


Baby Mine

by ladydragon76



Series: AU Yeah AUgust (in December) [20]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Genre: Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, LD's Fanfic Jeopardy!, M/M, Oops They're Sparklings!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-09-23 20:03:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17086829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladydragon76/pseuds/ladydragon76
Summary: Summary:Grimlock and Starscream are caught in the Weapon of the Week'stmfailure radius.





	Baby Mine

**Author's Note:**

> **'Verse:** G1  
>  **Series:** AU Yeah August  
>  **Rating:** PG-13  
>  **Characters:** Ratchet/Wheeljack, Grimlock/Starscream  
>  **Warnings:** Past Child Abuse Mention,  
>  **Notes:** I'm sure you all remember AU Yeah AUgust, yeah? Well, I was crocheting and didn't have time to try to write like I wanted, so I decided to move it to December. I have chosen some other prompts to replace some on the original list so as to avoid the ones I'm not into, but I do hope y'all enjoy!
> 
> Y'all don't even KNOW how many RPs I have with this theme, and I have no idea why I've never written fic with it before. I also blame this on NK because I HAD a plan for this fic, but then she threw a random bunneh at my head and this happened instead. This is another of those that will have chapters coming in the future. Probably some sparkling hijinks and what not, but this first bit is not as humorous as I envision those later chapters to maybe be.
> 
> 20\. Oops They're Babies!

One of the things Ratchet felt _the most_ guilt over, out of all the horrors he had witnessed in his long life, was how the Dinobots were treated. They had built battle drones, and then he and Wheeljack decided to undertake a dangerous, only not illegal because _who_ would ever do such a thing, experiment, and gave them sparks.

The Dinobots were not accepted.

They were locked in a cave alone. They were abandoned on an island. Alone. They were mocked, used, cast aside, thrown into battle after battle after battle, and in over thirty years, the only 'friend' any one of them had was First Aid. He and Swoop got along very well as equals in their medical training. In fact, Swoop was ahead of First Aid, but First Aid was trusted more regardless of what Ratchet said because he wasn't a Dinobot.

The worst of the guilt came from the fact that Ratchet could never bring himself to actually regret what they'd done. They would never admit it, perhaps not even to the Dinobots themselves for fear of what would happen- to them and to their creations, but he couldn't regret it. And what did that say about Ratchet? No, he knew what it said. It said that he was so greedy and grasping and selfish that he'd rather live with the guilt and allow his creations to suffer. It said that, _for him_ , it was worth the cost _they_ paid, just so he could have them in his life.

If they knew, would they hate him? Would they ever forgive him and Wheeljack for dragging them into a world so hell-bent on sneering down its collective nose at them?

Primus, though, he loved them so much! Wheeljack did too. They knew what they'd done was wrong, knew they'd crossed a line they couldn't step back over, but by all the gods and all the stars in the sky, they loved the Dinobots, and they tried to show it even as they scrambled to protect their creations from themselves and everyone else from them as well. Because, no matter what method of creation was used, sparklings were sparklings. Most were tiny and easy to manage by an attentive parent- or at least easier to manage than a newborn with the size and power of a mechanical dinosaur. They could talk because their adult frames had been programmed with language, but their infant sparks weren't able to control the bodies well, nor had language been something they were adept at. Few ever heard the Dinobots speak normally, and only Grimlock and Swoop did so with any regularity, and then only to Ratchet, Wheeljack, and -occasionally from Swoop- First Aid.

And then there was the war too. Violent battles, dangerous clashes between enemies _most_ of the Autobots were mature enough to choose to fight against themselves. They knew why. They _understood_ why. But not the Dinobots. They were pointed at the Decepticons and told to fight, and that was that.

Primus, they allowed Optimus to send their _sparklings_ into combat! Ratchet had started a thousand times to argue that they shouldn't go, but what were the Dinobots for if not to fight Decepticons? What value, what _worth_ did the Dinobots have if not to shove back against enemies they never consented to fight?

And then... Today...

There had been a deep _**THOOM**_ from somewhere to Ratchet's left, which was quickly followed by a blindingly bright flash of white light, and Wheeljack's voice over the main comms.

" _Oops_."

Someone had laughed. Prowl had literally facepalmed. But Ratchet had scowled, double checked the Decepticons were actually in retreat, then broke cover and hurried off to see just what part of his own body Wheeljack had blown off this time.

'Oops' had turned out to be something entirely different than an injury, and Ratchet was left reeling. Even hours later, standing in his own medbay, waiting for the energon to purify further, Ratchet could barely believe it.

_How_ had this happened? The question played on infinite loop in his mind.

Though the hours had given Ratchet one small, undeserved gift. As he watched Grimlock and Starscream as sparklings, that knot of grief and guilt in Ratchet's spark unwound just a tiny bit. Their processors were clearly _completely_ regressed, and thus they were perfectly normal sparklings in behavior, physical development, and mental development. Ratchet placed their ages at seven or eight months, tops. They could crawl, but they couldn't walk. They could sit and make all sorts of sounds, but could not speak in words. And that miniscule relief came paired with a very sad realization-

Grimlock would chirp and chatter at anyone who approached him, but he clearly recognized Ratchet and Wheeljack. He even seemed to recognize his brothers. The term was 'well-adjusted'. Grimlock, for all that he had faced in his first infancy, was well-adjusted, secure in the love of his family, and thus he felt safe in exploring his world. Ratchet and Wheeljack hadn't screwed up _quite_ as badly as Ratchet thought he had.

In sharp contrast, Starscream was fussy, frightened, and flinched at loud sounds or fast movements.

Someone had hurt Starscream when he was this young and precious.

Worse. Starscream was _never_ loud. Even when he cried -which was nearly constantly- he sniffled and whimpered. He didn't know how to accept comfort. He cringed when _he_ thought he got too loud. Neither he nor Wheeljack could chalk it up to a difference in personality, and it broke their sparks.

"Such a little one shouldn't know ta shush himself, Ratch," Wheeljack said, cuddling a tense Starscream to his shoulder and bouncing him.

At Ratchet's feet, Grimlock lay on his back playing with a clean polishing cloth and growling as he chewed at it. It was fragging adorable. Ratchet wanted to be able to watch Starscream do the same. It didn't matter that he was Starscream. Not to him, and not to Wheeljack. Not at this size.

There had been a meeting after everyone got back to the _Ark_ , a brief one, where Ratchet had defended both sparklings, but Starscream in particular, from being placed in a _cell_! The entire science team was working on this and trying to figure out if it could even be reversed. Ratchet and Wheeljack would look after Starscream as well as Grimlock, but were under strict orders to report _any_ suspicious behavior.

Ratchet rather suspected Red Alert had meant Grimlock too, but he had sparklings to tend, process energon for, and was not going to be drawn into another shouting match.

"I know," Ratchet murmured and ran the analysis on the new batch of carefully filtered energon. No one in the _Ark_ was capable of processing energon internally to feed a naturally born sparkling. Ratchet _might_ be able to trick his own systems into it, but the faster solution was to filter it in the medbay. Perceptor and Skyfire were working on a modified human baby bottle as a feeder, and would hopefully be done soon.

"Will it be safe for them?" Wheeljack asked when the scanner pinged.

Relief washed through Ratchet, and he nodded. "Yes. This will work."

"And without any extra strain on your systems," Wheeljack said, helmfins flashing and catching Starscream's attention. "Though I would be all for it if I could."

"I know you would," Ratchet said with a smile for his mate. Ratchet had never had the downtime to risk carrying, and Wheeljack simply couldn't. He didn't have the systems for it. Cruel of Primus to spark a mech who so loved sparklings and caring for them, and then for him to develop without the ability to spark and carry for himself.

Cruel too, because Ratchet thought his mate looked wonderful holding a sparkling in his arms.

Wheeljack must have noticed Ratchet's lingering gaze because his helmfins dimmed and shifted to a soft, pale blue, his optics crinkling at the outer corners. "We can get 'em fed, and then I'll bug Grapple 'n' Hoist about the little berth's progress."

Ratchet glanced down, and Grimlock squealed and kicked his feet when their optics met. "I hope they'll be ok with each other." Which mostly meant he hoped Starscream didn't reject Grimlock. Sparklings were still individuals, and with Starscream's behavior, he might lash out at something his size simply in an effort to grab at some control. It wasn't such a clear motivation in his little processors, but fear very clearly ruled the little Seeker.

"We'll be there," Wheeljack said and patted Starscream's back. "Pits, it might be best to keep this one close to us for recharge. At least until he learns a little trust."

"Should know trust," Ratchet grumbled as he crouched and scooped Grimlock up into his arms. His spark thrilled though as Grimlock squealed and babbled at him, little feet kicking. Ratchet smiled through the conflicting, crashing emotions inside him. The littlest Dinobot trusted them. That meant something, and he was going to cling tight to it.

Wheeljack stepped close and pressed against Ratchet's side with a low purr. "We'll teach it to 'im."

Starscream sniffled, but Ratchet caught him peeking at Grimlock. A little thumb had found its way to Starscream's mouth, and Ratchet pinged Perceptor about the bottles. One very good way to build trust with a sparkling was to feed it. Gentle hands and soft voices wouldn't do any good once a tiny tank grew too empty.

"We will," Ratchet said, feeling resolve begin to rise through the rest of the cacophony in his spark. He wasn't foolish enough to think this was some Primus-given gift of a second chance, but Ratchet could grab it with both hands regardless. He would do his damndest to look after and care for Grimlock and Starscream, and then once they were back to normal, he would always have this to look back on and treasure. If he somehow managed to fail this time, it wouldn't be for not trying hard enough.

**Author's Note:**

> Want to know more [About Me](https://ladydragon76.dreamwidth.org/334490.html)?


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